NSSE Analysis 2009
Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice ~ First-Year and Senior Students at UH West O‘ahu
The results from the 2009 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) were used to explore the relationship between academic engagement and student learning at UH West O‘ahu. This relationship is categorized into the following five categories by NSSE: Level of Academic Challenge (LAC), Active and Collaborative Learning (ACL), Student-Faculty Interaction (SFI), Enriching Educational Experiences (EEE), and Supportive Campus Environment (SCE). Prior research by NSSE showed that engagement in these five areas by students contributed to their success in college. These benchmarks of first-year and senior students at West O‘ahu are compared to those of their counterparts at West O‘ahu’s peer (Far West region) and Carnegie class (2005 Basic Carnegie) institutions. A total of 674 first-year and senior students were sampled in Fall 2008 and administered the NSSE survey in Spring 2009. Of this sample, 270 students or 40 percent completed the NSSE survey. Of the respondents, 36 were first-year students and 234 were seniors.
Generally, the average scores of first-year and senior students at West O‘ahu on four of the five benchmarks (LAC, ACL, SFI and EEE) are comparable to those of their counterparts at peer institutions. In contrast, the average scores of students at Carnegie institutions on these same four benchmarks are slightly to somewhat higher than those of West O‘ahu students. On average, students at West O‘ahu rated their Supportive Campus Environment (SCE) higher than those students from their peer and Carnegie class institutions.